Newspapers / Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter / March 1, 1970, edition 1 / Page 3
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MARCH, 1970 THE PIEDMONITOR PAGE THREE LONG LINES Since Piedmont’s long Ime is one of, if not the most, successful of our modes of communication, we thought a column by the same name might be a good way of mentioning some of the small, but newsy things of interest that go on around the system. Any contribu tions you might have will be more than welcome. Address them to the Editor, Piedmonitor, INT-ZY. Bluefield has written to “reprimand” the Piedmonitor for its remarl?s about absenteeism at Shenandoah being the best around. They informed us that Bluefield has had no absenteeism for the years 1968 and 1969 as well as none that could be remembered for 1967. We stand admonished! That’s a hard record to beat. ^ tf: We see from the newspaper clips that Nashville Station Manager Vize Dotson has been appointed to that city’s Chamber of Commerce Aviation Committee. ^ Record increases in traffic were achieved during February. Rev- IRiue passenger miles were up 26%, to 50,935,862. Revenue passengers were up 18% with 188,629 flying the Pacemaker routes last month. The following excerpts are from a column that appeared in the Greenville-Spartanburg newspaper recently. The story was written by Sports Editor Dan Foster. We found it interesting to see how things sometimes look from the other side of the counter. Parts Of The Stories In flipping through the copies of The News of the past few days, there were the games, scores, fouls, records and so forth. That’s what the pages are supposed to be about, but sometimes there are little stories behind those. The VMI-Furman game, for example. There was nothing in the story that said the ninth paragraph was dictated about 165 miles and 100 minutes after the eighth one. I decided to finish the story in Roanoke. The airline connections out of there to Greenville are all but non-existent, but Roanoke aviation is still ahead of Lexington, one airport to none. Up in that country, at night, you first buy a ticket, then ask where it’s going. Winston-Salem was the answer. Good, from Winston-Salem Friday morning at 9:30, there would be a nice little flight back to Greenville-Spartanburg. Well, that opened the gate to a brief sensation of how it must be to be filthy rich, because on that sleek new Piedmont Air Lines 737 jet, I was the only passenger. Running out to catch it, after the Piedmont counter man had gone above and beyond, I was slowed up by another Piedmont employee. “Take it easy,” he said. Didn’t want to hold them up, I told him. “You are ‘them,’ ” he said. Eighty-nine empty seats, two stew ardesses, stereo, the works. “Tell them they may take off,” I told the stew, and leaned back to examine my jet. They Stand In Relief Having completed the story which had started in Lexington, Va., over an airport phone in Winston-Salem, there was the last taxi to downtown Winston-Salem. We went on an expressway and it was a quick trip. But the next morning, going back to the airport, a different driver, about 65, maybe older, weaved through the city streets. Told we had come in via the expressway the night before, he said, “Well, I go this way, unless the passenger asks to go the expressway.” Ignoring for a moment that there must be four or five people a day who don’t know about his policies, he was asked if the expressway were not quicker. “Oh it may be,” he said, “but this way is shorter. It’s about 10 to 20 cents shorter, and if I catch the traffic lights just right, it s about as quick. The passengers don’t know it’s 10 to 20 cents shorter, but I do.” If there was still someone in this world who valued 10 or 20 cents Bver a few minutes, taking people to catch a plane, then it was not for me to disturb him. He may be the only living warrior against inflation. In the midst of hurry, as it is seen in New York and Philadelphia, and Washington, he is a prize. He and a chatty, smiling little old woman in the Philadelphia airport restaurant, who asked customers, “How have you been? I haven’t seen you, in, let’s see, three weeks. They stand out in fresh relief against the background of honking horns, rushing breakfasts, people biting at the airline counter people because planes which the counter people have never seen, nor may ever see, are late. People do that. A counter person says, “Sorry, Flight 379 will be 30 minutes late,” and the customer he tells snarls at him like the counter agent had personally planted a milkshake in the fuel line. It is heresy to say this, but when the scores of most games are forgotten, the chatty little woman behind the snack counter, the snarl ing people in front of the ticket counter, the private ride on Flight 25, the 165-mile paragraph, and the warrior driving a taxi against inflation, will linger on. ANNUAL REPORT ' (’oiil iinuMl I’l'om l':i ()iu‘ > $166,234 or $.09 per share in 1968. It was noted in President Davis’ report to the stockholders that the loss was caused primarily by the 30 day strike called by the Air Line Pilots Association during the peak traffic season. Other contri buting factors were extremely rapid cost increases and a general "softening” of business throughout the entire airline industry during the last half of 1969. Revenue passenger miles during 1969 were up 9% over 1968 to al most 594 million and cargo ton miles increased 13% to over 6 million. The revenue load factor was 43.73%, the highest of any of the regional airlines. ‘ The General Aviation Division of the Company had the most success ful year in history with total sales of $11,586,393. The report itself was built around the theme of the Company’s growth during the decade of the sixties. BRIDGE CHARTER I ('out iiuiiMi from I'liK*’ means while the bridge was out. Some of those who, at one time or another crossed by every mode available said they preferred to go the Piedmont way. A smiling stewardess every morning and afternoon was “the only way” to go to work and to come home they said. Perhaps the bridge people need to apply a stewardess-type ap proach for their toll takers! Ma- Uni- HTS WAUGH M'oiiri iiiu'd HihO Waugh served with the U.S. rines. He attended Marshall versity. Mrs. Waugh is the former Joann Dobbins of Huntington. They have three children. Replacing Waugh at Columbus is P. R. Gustafson. Stewardess — Nancy Dalton Miss Dalton Will Represent PI At 1970 Azalea Festival Miss Nancy Sue Dalton has been selected to represent Pied mont at the 1970 Azalea Festival to be held in Wilmington, North Caro lina April 2-5. A stewardess with the Company since 1968 Miss Dalton is a native of Hillsville, Virginia. She is the daughter of Mrs. Lillian Dalton. A striking brunette, Miss Dalton is 5’ 5” tall and has green eyes. Prior to joining Piedmont she at tended Wytheville (Virginia) Com munity College and later worked as a secretary. Miss Dalton will be Piedmont’s official ambassador at all the Azalea festivities. CRO MOVES ON TOWARD MOVING DAY lOOKING OVER what will be the training facilities in the new temporary manual Cen tral Office are, from left, Bob Talley, Manager of Adminis trative Planning; Pete Martin, Manager of Facilities and Jim Wilson, Manager of Training. QUOTA BOARDS will be located here says Tom Cowen, far right, as he introduces the new CRO managers to what will be their temporary home. They are, from left. Central Res Control; CRO and Don Tate, Sheri Brown, Manager of Wall Rycek, Manager — Manager of Sales.
Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter
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March 1, 1970, edition 1
3
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